12 Days of Holiday Treats 2025: Festive Candy Cane White Chocolate Cookies

Scroll to the bottom of the post to get ALL the “12 Days” recipes from 2019 – 2024!

Welcome to Day 11 of

The 12 Days of Holiday Treats!

Once again, this year, from December 1st-12th I’ll post a new holiday treat recipe every day – inspiration for your holiday entertaining!

The recipes I’m sharing are small-er batch – each recipe makes 1-dozen or a few more smaller-sized treats that are simple to prepare and that use everyday ingredients and equipment so hopefully you’ll be able to whip up any of these on a whim. Check out the treats from 2019 – 2024 at the bottom of this post too for more inspiration!

Today’s treat is another cookie – a bit more festive than the Cranberry, Pepita and White Chocolate version I shared earlier in this series. Lots of people loved those cookies but told me they felt like they would make them year-round. Now, I’m not saying you *won’t* make this version year-round but these feel definitively festive with the addition of crushed candy cane!

Once again, these are easy to make a batch of in advance and freeze after you’ve scooped them out. Then just bake up what you need – I did this for a holiday spread at work this week and everyone was amazed that I had brought not one but two different cookies (I *did* confess to having frozen dough ready to bake but still folks were impressed!).

Could you sub different chocolate chips in these? Sure you could! Just don’t leave out the candy cane!

Yield: 24

Festive Candy Cane White Chocolate Cookies

Festive Candy Cane White Chocolate Cookies

Festive Candy Cane White Chocolate Cookies - perfect to gift or just enjoy for yourself over the holidays!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Chill Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 32 minutes

Ingredients

  • 225g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 113g (8 tablespoons/ 1/2 cup) salted butter, room temperature
  • 100g (1/2 cup) firmly packed dark brown sugar
  • 100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 100g (1/2 cup) white chocolate chips
  • 65g crushed candy cane (about 1/3 cup)

Instructions

    1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda and set aside.
    2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or using electric hand beaters, cream the butter and sugars on medium speed until smooth and slightly pale in colour (2-3 minutes).
    3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg and vanilla and continue to mix on medium speed until the egg is fully mixed in.
    4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and, with the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips and candy cane and mix until they are evenly distributed through the dough.
    5. Portion the cookies using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, placing the scooped cookies close together on a large plate or tray that you can fit in your fridge.
Cover the dough balls with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two large baking trays with parchment paper.
    6. Remove the cookie dough from the fridge and place the cookies approx. 2 inches apart on the trays (they will spread as they bake).
    7. Bake for 8 minutes, then remove the pans from the oven, one by one. With your thumbs (in oven mitts!) holding the parchment paper on the trays, bang them on the countertop 5-6 times until the cookies flatten.
    8. Return pans to the oven and bake for 4 more minutes until the cookies start to turn golden-brown and the centres are just about set (they might look a little “wet”).

    9. Place the trays on wire cooling racks for 5 minutes then carefully transfer the cookies (still on the parchment paper) to wire cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

Notes

You can scoop all the cookies at once, freeze them immediately and just bake off what you need. Baking from frozen, they might need a couple of extra minutes, but the best advice is to just keep an eye on them as they bake.

did you make this recipe?

please leave a comment or review on the blog or share a photo and tag me on Instagram @eatlivtravwrite !

These would be lovely with some kind of dark chocolate drizzle if you felt so inclined but I actually like them just the way they are!

Stay tuned for the LAST day of treats tomorrow!

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Check out 2024’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:

Day 1: Browned Butter Holiday Rice Krispie Squares

Day 2: Orange Shortbread

Day 3: Festive Macaroons

Day 4: Chocolate Wheatie Cookies

Day 5: Raspberry Coconut Squares

Day 6: Lemon Curd Tartlets

Day 7: Granola Cookies

Day 8: Lemon Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

Day 9: Cranberry Almond Squares

Day 10: Chocolate Caramel Cups

Day 11: Cheese Crackers

Day 12: No-bake Almond Cranberry Slice

Check out 2023’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:

Day 1: Holiday Speckles

Day 2: Soft Chocolate Mint Sugar Cookies

Day 3: Funfetti Thumbprint Cookies with Ruby Drop Centres

Day 4: Chocolate Orange Creme Cups

Day 5: Chocolate Filled Shortbread Cups

Day 6: Pistachio Fruit Bread Crackers

Day 7: Pistachio Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

Day 8: Iced Mocha Financier Bars (GF)

Day 9: Lemon Meringue Thumbprint Cookies

Day 10: Chocolate Hazelnut Financiers

Day 11: Cranberry, Almond and Pistachio “truffles”

Day 12: Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies (GF)

Check out 2022’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:

Day 1: Chocolate Peppermint Creme Cups

Day 2: Chocolate-Dipped Wafer Cookies

Day 3: Gingerbread madeleines

Day 4: Funfetti Cookies

Day 5: Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Day 6: Coffee Financiers

Day 7: No-Bake Strawbery Cheesecake Cups

Day 8: Holiday Joys

Day 9: Holiday Spice Marmalade

Day 10: Soft Molasses Cookies

Day 11: Coconut Roughs

Day 12: Holiday Lights Jam Sandwich Cookies

Check out 2021’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:

Day 1: Speculoos financiers

Day 2: Chocolate Dipped Orange Sugar Cookies

Day 3: Madeleines à la Clémentine

Day 4: Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies

Day 5: Sunbutter and Jam Chocolate Cups

Day 6: Hot Chocolate and Marshmallow Cookies

Day 7: Linzer Cookies

Day 8: Chocolate-Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies

Day 9: Choc-Mint Thumbprint Cookies

Day 10: Pailles (Puff Pastry and Jam Cookies)

Day 11: Strawberry Santa Hats

Day 12: Mulled Wine Jam

Check out 2020’s 12 Days of Holiday Treats:

Day 1: Rice Krispie Wreaths

Day 2: Cranberry Cheesecake Bars

Day 3: Peppermint Bark

Day 4: Orangettes

Day 5: Rocky Road Chocolate Crackle Slice

Day 6: Candy Cane Sugar Cookies

Day 7: Orange Pim’s

Day 8: Mendiants

Day 9: Chewy Chocolate Mint Crackle Cookies

Day 10: Apricot, Coconut and Cranberry “truffles”

Day 11: Chocolate, Cherry and Almond Brownies

Day 12: Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Check out 2019’s 12 Days of Holiday Cookies:

Day 1: Easy Three Ingredient Shortbread

Day 2: Jam Drops

Day 3: Chocolate Caramel Slice

Day 4: Melting Moments

Day 5: White Christmas

Day 6: Langues de Chat

Day 7: Chocolate Coconut Slice

Day 8: Cornflake Biscuits

Day 9: Rocky Road

Day 10: Honey Joys

Day 11: Rum Ball Truffles

Day 12: Giant Florentine Cookie (to share)

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